Sit, Stay, Roll Film!—The Fifth Annual DogFest Film Festival will take place this Saturday, Sept. 25, beginning at 8 p.m. This short film festival is dedicated entirely to films for, about and (well, maybe) by canines. This year, the festival has accepted entries from California to Canada in hopes of extending its claim as “America's premiere dog-centric film festival.” (Honestly, is there a lot of competition out there?) The organizers promise a smorgasbord of comedy, drama, documentary, animation and puppetry, music video and even ultra-short movies designed for mobile phones. This year, to make the festival even more canine friendly, the event will take place outdoors at the ABQ Botanical Garden. Dogs are free and the $5 admission price for humans will go to help a number of dog-related nonprofit organizations: promoting spaying and neutering, assistance/companion dog programs, homeless animal shelters and more. The screening will be set up at the picnic area of the Albuquerque Aquarium. Viewers are encouraged to bring blankets, pillows, folding chairs and (of course) well-behaved dogs on leashes. An exercise area and ample water will be provided. Prizes will be awarded to the best films, with first place claiming $500 for the animal charity of the filmmaker's choice. Tickets are available at Three Dog Bakery (9821 Montgomery NE), The Animal Humane Association (615 Virginia SE) and at the gate of the Albuquerque Aquarium (2601 Central NW). For more information, about DogFest, log on to www.dogfestfilmfestival.org.

Plain Jane documentary won't rewrite history

By Steven Robert Allen

I enjoy left-wing documentaries as much as the next lefty, but I'm still not convinced radical historian Howard Zinn is the ideal subject for this kind of film. After all, the reason why Zinn's masterpiece, A People's History of the United States, is still so—excuse the term—revolutionary is because it rejects the standard “great men” theory of history. Instead of focusing on big name white males, Zinn's bestselling book gives marginalized minorities a platform to tell the history of our country from their own perspectives.

Old-fashioned superior invites viewers into a world of visual wonders

By Devin D. O'Leary

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a retro-futuristic sci-fi fantasy that plays out like some lost '30s Saturday morning movie serial chronicling the adventures of the world's greatest pulp hero that no one has ever heard of.

“Joey” on NBC

By Devin D. O'Leary

Anticipation and expectation are a hell of a thing. They can ruin what would otherwise be an acceptable experience. Go into something expecting too much, and you're guaranteed to be disappointed. Based on expectations alone, NBC's new sitcom “Joey” seems like it would be a major disappointment. It's got the onus of continuing one of the most successful sitcom franchises in TV history. It's also being forced to anchor the last crumbling vestige of NBC's once-great “Must See TV” empire. How could it possibly live up to such hype?

The Week in Sloth

Thursday 23

“CSI” (KRQE-13 8 p.m.) Fans will note that there is no colon in the title, indicating that this is the original “CSI.” The season kicks off to a zippy start with not one but four murders over the course of one wild Vegas night.

“ER” (KOB-4 9 p.m.) This show has always loved tossing its docs into the middle of bloody disasters. This season opener is no exception, trapping Dr. Pratt underwater in a bus full of patients.

Friday 24

“Complete Savages” (KOAT-7 7:30 p.m.) This family sitcom is loosely inspired by the real-life adventures of the show's producer Mel Gibson (minus the billion-dollar bank account, of course.) Plot has a single father (Keith Carradine) struggling to raise five boys.

UNM Continuing Education Building

KiMo Theatre

A woman falls in love with the wealthy Maxim de Winter. When they return to his large estate in Cornwall, Mrs. de Winter discovers that his first wife, Rebecca, has a strange hold on everyone at the estate.